the name applied to a very exquisite species of tapestry, in honour of Giles Gobelin, a celebrated French dyer in the reign of Francis I., and the discoverer of a method of dyeing a beautiful scarlet, which was named after him. His house in the suburb of St Marcel at Paris, and the rivulet he made use of, are still called the Gobelins. An academy for drawing, and a manufactory of fine tapestries, were established in this quarter by Colbert in 1666; and hence the tapestries made there received the name of Gobelin.

GOBI or SHAMO, an extensive tract of desert country in Central Asia. See Asia.